1864. ] Co.iuinawoop on Acclimatization. 429 
Burchell’s zebra, quagga, &c., and prizes for the successful breeding 
of these animals in a state of captivity or domestication are offered, as 
well as for crosses between them and the mare and the ass. 
Among birds, the ostrich has been introduced and domesticated in 
Algeria and in the south of Europe, and prizes of 1,500 francs are 
offered for the possession of flocks of these birds, bred by the owner. 
Attempts also are being made with the cassowary of New Holland, 
and the American rhea, the crowned pigeon, the ocellated turkey 
(Meleagris ocellata), Californian quail, &c. 
We have not alluded to a Society which exists in London of a 
similar character, not because it is unimportant, but rather because 
we wished to call attention to the extensive scale upon which the 
Societies of Paris and Melbourne are engaged. ‘The most important 
work of the London Acclimatization Society is in the matter of Pisci- 
culture. Of this Society Mr. Frank Buckland is an active member, 
and his exertions in the cause of fish-hatching, and the preservation, 
rearing, and introduction of valuable fish in the rivers of this country, 
must be appreciated by everyone. The recent discovery of a fine 
salmon, which had revisited the Thames, makes us hope that the 
labours of the pisciculturists will be aided, as far as the metropolis is 
concerned, by the great works which have been undertaken for the 
purpose of purifying the river, and we trust that attention is now suffi- 
ciently aroused to the necessity of protecting a single fish like the 
salmon, to prevent that extirpation of it which a short time since 
seemed but too probable. Nor should we altogether omit to allude to 
the success which has attended the efforts to cultivate oysters. 
The French Society have also largely devoted themselves to these 
subjects, and we regret that our space will not permit us to enter more 
fully upon these labours. Several valuable papers upon Pisciculture 
appear in the first series of ‘ Bulletins,’ with the names of Vallen- 
ciennes, Gillet de Grandmont, René-Caillaud, Lamiral, &c., attached. 
The cultivation of the silkworm has also attracted much notice, 
and in this department the name of M. Guérin-Méneville stands con- 
spicuous. Several species have been introduced into France, and 
largely supplied with the trees which are their natural food. Among 
these are the Bombyx Cynthia, or Ailanthe silkworm, and more 
recently the Ya-ma-mai, or oak silkworm of Japan. The latter have 
been introduced at some risk by M. Pompe van Meerdervoort, Director 
of the Medical School at Nagasaki, who procured a number of eggs, 
the exportation of which is strictly prohibited by the Japanese, which 
have been reared in France successfully ; and it is believed that this 
important insect, which lives upon the leaves of the common oak, will 
support the variations of our climate without much difficulty. The 
Chinese oak silkworm (Bombyx Pernyi) has been imported also, 
but the experiment of rearing it has for the present failed. 
The popularity of the subject of acclimatization is well illustrated 
by the prominence lately given in our leading journal, to a report 
about to be issued by the Acclimatization Society of Victoria; and it 
is their experience that paragraphs referring to the proceedings of the 
Society attain a circulation more general than almost any other subject 
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